Vijay Vankhede

On 13 Dec, I received an email from Manu Prakash about his first Foldscope workshop in India. It was exciting for me to see his email. Ultimately, the waiting for the Foldscope was over. Selected Venue for the workshop was Sri Venkateswara College in Delhi.
 


 
 On 16 Dec, It was a cold morning in Delhi. I was the first guy to write a name in the register at registration corner. I received warm greetings from Sara &amp; Christine. Thank you, Sara &amp; Christine.
 


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 <img alt="Delhi_workshop_banner" class="aligncenter wp-image-10980 size-large gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="10980" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.8","credit":"","camera":"Micromax AQ4501","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1450251738","copyright":"","focal_length":"3.44","iso":"65","shutter_speed":"0.007673","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="Delhi_workshop_banner" data-recalc-dims="1" height="716" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_10979/IMG_20151216_074217.jpg" width="1000"/>
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 The workshop started around 9:00 am. My first sight toward the Foldscope was like this:
 


 
 Sheets of paper put on round table having some dark red cups on it. Which contain black strips, lenses, LEDs, cell, tap, scissor. These are the things which we use daily in our life. I knew that within a short amount of time I will make something wonderful out of it!
 


 
 Yes, It’s microscope made out of paper, tiny lens, LED and button cell. That’s it. Can you imagine the microscope which is made out of this routine materials and having 2000x magnification capability!
 


 
 This is the beauty of the Foldscope for which I travelled 1000+ km. Think about children who were playing with the toys are now playing with the microscope!
 


 
 When I was a kid there was child cartoon character named Dexter. He spent most of his time in his lab. I’m reminiscing an image in which Dexter was doing something with the black microscope and working on his invention. Now this fiction is becoming reality. Children can play with the microscope which they can use &amp; throw. The game can be of finding different microorganisms! This is really revolutionary. Hats off to Manu Prakash and his team.
 


 
 Manu Prakash and his team had made it very interactive. All people were working together and helping each other. At one point I stuck in fixing LED. Jim came and helped me to fix it. Thank you, Jim.
 


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 <img alt="IMG_20151216_101211" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-10985 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="10985" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="IMG_20151216_101211" data-recalc-dims="1" height="393" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_10979/IMG_20151216_101211.png" width="1000"/>
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 Here I am posting a picture of the
 <a alt="Plant_cell" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_10979/Plant_cell" target="_blank">
 plant cell
 </a>
 which we had taken during the workshop.
 


 <a alt="IMG_20151216_123139.jpg" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_10979/IMG_20151216_123139.jpg">
 <img alt="Delhi_foldscope_plant_cell" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-10983 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="10983" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.8","credit":"","camera":"Micromax AQ4501","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1450269101","copyright":"","focal_length":"3.44","iso":"196","shutter_speed":"0.010002","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="Delhi_foldscope_plant_cell" data-recalc-dims="1" height="750" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_10979/IMG_20151216_123139.jpg" width="1000"/>
 </a>
 
 
 In above image, we can see the cells of a plant. We can also see that cells are surrounded by a thick, rigid cell wall. It was very exciting to see this through Foldscope.
 


 Here I would like to share some interesting facts about the plant cell.

<ul>
 <li style="font-weight: 400">
 
 The first thing that is wonderful about plant cells is that they are  the only producers of food by self on earth.
 
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 <li style="font-weight: 400">
 
 Plants retain a definite shape due to the rigid cell wall. They take in lots of water but the rigid cell wall helps them retain their shape.
 
 </li>
 <li style="font-weight: 400">
 
 Without the sun, plants are not able to produce food. With energy derived from the sun, plant cell converts carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and sugar and prepare food.
 
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 <li style="font-weight: 400">
 
 Without plant cells and their features, food for plants is impossible.
 
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 Plants need sunlight to maintain the growth of plant cells.
 
 </li>
</ul>

Vijay Vankhede

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Foldscope Lens Magnification